Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31256353›Full record

ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2019

Do Self-Myofascial Release Devices Release Myofascia? Rolling Mechanisms: A Narrative Review.

David G Behm, Jan Wilke

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 104 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
104citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
10.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

104 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 188 citations in OpenAlex.

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44 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

David G BehmSchool of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1C 5S7, Canada. dbehm@mun.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9406-6056
Jan WilkeDepartment of Sports Medicine, Institute of Sports Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
Goethe University Frankfurt · DEMemorial University of Newfoundland · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The term "self-myofascial release" is ubiquitous in the rehabilitation and training literature and purports that the use of foam rollers and other similar devices release myofascial constrictions accumulated from scar tissue, ischaemia-induced muscle spasms and other pathologies. Myofascial tone can be modulated with rollers by changes in thixotropic properties, blood flow, and fascial hydration affecting tissue stiffness. While rollers are commonly used as a treatment for myofascial trigger points, the identification of trigger points is reported to not be highly reliable. Rolling mechanisms underlying their effect on pain suppression are not well elucidated. Other rolling-induced mechanisms to increase range of motion or reduce pain include the activation of cutaneous and fascial mechanoreceptors and interstitial type III and IV afferents that modulate sympathetic/parasympathetic activation as well as the activation of global pain modulatory systems and reflex-induced reductions in muscle and myofascial tone. This review submits that there is insufficient evidence to support that the primary mechanisms underlying rolling and other similar devices are the release of myofascial restrictions and thus the term "self-myofascial release" devices is misleading.

Indexed as

Muscle, SkeletalPain ManagementRange of Motion, ArticularHumansMassagePain

Identifiers

PMID31256353
OpenAlexW2953467589

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.